Jason Chow awarded prestigious early career research grant from the Institute of Education Sciences

January 11, 2019

Jason Chow, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Special Education in the School of Education and Co-Director of the Cognition and Learning Lab, received one of three Early Career research grants from the Institute of Education Sciences awarded in August 2018. The study, funded by the National Center for Special Education Research, will examine the co-development of language skills and classroom behavior problems in young children.

“We know a lot about the co-occurrence of school-based language and behavior problems, but what we’re hoping to do with this project is identify how language, communication skills, classroom engagement, and disruptive behavior co-develop during the early years of formal schooling.”

This work, in collaboration with Chesterfield County Public Schools, will include and follow 200 students from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of first grade. The grant is a four-year project and will run from 2018-2022.

“We’re lucky to be able to extend on previous cross-sectional and longitudinal work by collecting a robust dataset of direct observations, teacher report, as well as student direct assessments and interviews to provide a more comprehensive picture of the ecological nature of classroom environments.”

The project also supports graduate and undergraduate research, providing applied school-based research opportunities for students to acquire essential research skills.

“Ultimately, our aim is to not only identify important developmental trajectories of language and behavior in young children, but more importantly to use these data to identify the most advantageous areas for intervention.”